Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 15:

In page 15, after line 37, to insert the following:"(g) the report required by section 39,".

As this is not one of the key amendments for me in that it probably applies to most legislation that comes before us, I do not propose to spend too long on it. When we discussed this matter on Committee Stage on Tuesday, the Minister outlined that Part 5 deals with standards. All those standards relate to individuals. My difficulty is with the body corporate accepting gifts. There is need for a mechanism under which there would be disclosure of and accountability for such gifts. I am always concerned that a gift from a drinks or other inappropriate company could be accepted by the agency and that we, namely, the board, Minister or other appropriate authority, have no way of knowing this. The amendment seeks to ensure such gifts are declared in the annual report of the agency. Given the discussion we had on this issue on Committee Stage, we need to look more generally at disclosure obligations for body corporates. We have done quite a lot of work in this regard on individual members and officeholders.

As this is a matter related to legislation in general, I do not propose to press the amendment. I just wanted to avail of the opportunity today to make that point. Perhaps the Minister will ensure the agency takes it on board as a good governance principle.